Cameron Highlands Tea Plantation, Malaysia

Monday, February 16, 2009

Nyonya Acar Fish (Fish Pickle)


Nyonya food cooking may differ in taste from one region to another. I've to confess that Nyonya recipes are complicated affairs which requires many hours of preparation of the herbs and spices.

My mom is fortunate to have inherited such precious recipes from my paternal grandmother who is a Nyonya. I was introduced to Nyonya food at a relatively young age and remember vividly my late granny's scrumptious meals which include Perut Ikan, Fish Pickle, Gulai Tumis, Jiu Hu Char (Stir-fried turnips and carrots with dried cuttlefish), Sambal Prawn, Chicken Kapitan and many more.


I have always been spoiled by my mom's amazing nyonya fish pickle, so rarely I can find others that is up to par. Acar fish is fish slices that are deep-fried and are pickled together with white vinegar, slices of cucumbers, gingers, turmerics, garlics and strips of red/green chillies.

This tantalizing delicacy is one of the most appetising meals at home. My hubby is such a sucker for this delicacy and it fits his taste buds perfectly. Trust me, he could just eat platefuls of rice with this dish alone. At his request, I learnt to make this dish from my mother but somehow, it didn't turn out too well to his liking but I'm sure there's always room for improvement. It's never easy to please my hubby's taste buds but as long as he knows how to eat, that's all that matters. :)

25 comments:

  1. Hi Mei Teng,
    it's one of my all time favourite dishes.

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  2. Oh, let me double that! Yummy, yummy!! : )

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  3. it sure got me drooling just by looking at it! is it very sour? n spicy? :)

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  4. I don't know much about cooking Nyonya food but I like to eat them. :)
    Hope to learn more from you.

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  5. This is surely yummy, I mean fried fish is already nice, then you add the acar pickles to give it the sweet and sour taste = taste bud explosion! XD Suddenly I'm reminded of the Little Nyonya show in Singapore lol.

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  6. I want one! Looks absolutely yummy!

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  7. The Acar Fish really looks delicious. I love good authentic Nyonya food too.

    Btw, hubbies are always the worst critic of wifey's cooking. But they still 'telan' whatever we lay on the table. Hehehe ...

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  8. foong,
    This dish when left overnight tastes even better.!

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  9. levian,
    this dish is not that spicy, but rather, it has a kinda sweet yet sour taste.

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  10. monica,
    it definitely has a unique taste that will satisfy your hunger pangs.:)

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  11. ECL,
    I've to confess that I prefer to eat rather than cook but cooking is one thing and cleaning up is another! hehe. i'm in the midst of polishing my cooking techniques for this dish. after i acquired this recipe perfectly, i'd definitely share my recipe here.

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  12. JL,
    some of my friends are so eager to learn how to cook Nyonya food after watching the show in sg.

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  13. hi wenny,
    My hubby will eat whatever I cook though and it is such a great sense of accomplishment whenever my hubby compliments my cooking.

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  14. Hi LR, I love fish of any kind and this acar sure looks yummy! :)

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  15. Looks like u are a great cook la woman! No wonder hubby so happy! ;)

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  16. i'm a huge fan of spiciness! but this dish sure sounds appetizing. :)

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  17. looks so yum!! can invite me for dinner next time?! :D

    renaye
    http://renaye.nutang.com

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  18. mariuca,
    i'm not a great cook by any measures, still very far from perfect. hehehe

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  19. Hi Ron, Levian, Loke,
    Come on over and join me if you can. :):)

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  20. Wow, if I can join add me in also XD

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  21. JL,
    you're more than welcome to join the crowd.

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